thursday, october 18th. good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> i'm sarah simmons in for alison seymour. weather is pretty nice outside this morning. >> now it is. i think we have changes coming. tucker barnes has the details. good morning. >> good morning. off to a cool start. not terribly cold like yesterday. changes in the form of rain showers late today, really tonight. i think tonight will be the timing our best chance for rain, maybe thunderstorms, too. you can see out to the west the green indicating rain showers. all that energy pushing our way. sunshine, and clouds increasing later in the day. and really tonight, best chance of rain showers. temperature now at reagan national, we are cool. cool at reagan national, 54 degrees now. 50 at dulles. yesterday morning dulles was in

the 30s at this hour. bwi marshall 46 degrees. highs expected to top out in the low 70s, becoming mostly cloudy later this afternoon. the rain showers should generally hold off until the evening hours. more details on the weather and we'll look at the weekend as well. let's do traffic with julie wright and find out what's going on out there. >> we have delays now traveling in virginia. northbound 395, got off the phone with vdot. had a stalled car on the right side of the bridge headed to the southeast southwest freeway. traffic on 395 slowing from the beltway to seminary road and north of 110. northbound i-95 the accident activity with state police on the scene, squeezing the left lane causing delays leaving stafford to quantico. dale city trying to get past this accident scene.

between lorton and springfield, all the lanes open. 301 at billings ly road, an accident. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. thank you very much. the big story, federal agents disrupt a terror plot against the federal reserve building in new york city. >> this is the war on terror is playing a larger role in the race to the white house. melanie alnwick has the details. >> quazi mohammad rezwanul ahsan nafis had his first court appearance yesterday. the resurgence of al-qaida appears to be having an impact on the campaign trail. >> reporter: this time the federal reserve building in new york city the target. the accused plotter, quazi mohammad rezwanul ahsan nafis,

who allegedly claimed to have al-qaida connections, thought he was gog to detonate a van full of explosives. they were fake. but it comes as al-qaida may be strengthening its hand overseas, especially in north africa. a shift that may be changing the way president obama campaigns. here he was just a week ago. >> and today al-qaida is on the run. >> reporter: but yesterday, that changed. in two stump speeches he has dropped his usual line that al- qaida is on the run. >> i said we'd focus on the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and we have and bin laden is dead. >> reporter: the change comes as both candidates prepare for the last debate next week, where the focus will be on foreign policy. mitt romney hoping to chip away at an issue that most polls show favors the president. >> i look at what's happening throughout the middle east and pakistan, and i look around

north africa. and the world continues to be dangerous. >> reporter: this as the campaign continues to argue about the terrorist attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi last month and what role al- qaida may have played there. >> we know there have been at least a dozen plots targeting new york city after nine. a lot of those are lone wolves. does this suspect have contact with al-qaida? >> reporter: he had contact with them in january. prosecutors say he was influenced by anwar al-awlaki and wanted to become a martyr. but the complaint itself doesn't say he had training or actual direction from the terrorist group. >> melanie alnwick reporting from the newsroom. thank you. now, new this morning, from the middle east, suspected u.s. drone air strikes have killed

at least seven al-qaida militants in yemen. they had apparently gathered at a farm. the air strikes came after tips from local residents that an al- qaida attack on the town was imment. imminent. president obama and governor romney are quitting the campaign trail for tonight at least and will trade one liners when they address a high profile fundraiser in new york. the alfred e. smith dinner is a white tie gala that raises money for low income children. tomorrow the president will visit fairfax, virginia. romney was in virginia last night, and he rallied voters in leesburg. romney has a few more events in the commonwealth before the election, but this week he has only two public appearances as he gets ready for monday's final debate. we know where the president will be on election night next month. sources in the obama campaign say mr. obama will be at the mccormick place convention

center in chicago. it's the same place used for the nato summit there last may. tony? sarah, thank you very much. mitt romney's oldest son is making headlines this morning for a joking comment he made in the wake of tuesday's presidential debate. it involves punching the president. tag romney was an a north carolina radio show yesterday when the host asked about the romney family watching the debate in person. >> what is it like for you to hear the president of the united states call your dad a liar. how do you react to that? >> jump out of your seat and you want to rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him, but you know you can't do that, first, because there's a lot of secret service and it's the nature of the process. they're going to try to do everything they can to make my dad something he's not. we signed up for it. we have to take our punches and send them back the other way. >> during the interview he also

talked about how nervous mitt romney gets before the debates. there is another debate tonight in the race for the open virginia senate seat. former democratic governor tim kaine will face off against republican george allen. they've debated twice. tonight is at virginia tech and it starts at 7:00. you decide 2012 will focus on local and national candidates and issues during the final two weeks of the campaign. it starts monday at 6:30 p.m. here on fox 5. let's take a look at more of our top local stories now. a person was killed early this morning as they walked along route one in alexandria. this happened before 2:00 a.m. in the northbound lanes of route one near huntington avenue, south of the beltway. investigation lasted several hours, but all lanes are open at this time.

the trial resumes today for the two prince george's county police officers charged with beating a university of maryland student. it happened in 2010 during wild celebrations after the terps beat duke in a basketball game. yesterday the judge dismissed first degree assault charges against the officers. they still face charges of second degree assault and misconduct in office. jury could begin deliberating tomorrow. some church leaders from maryland are holding a couple of news conferences to support gay marriage. the first is today outside the cathedral of the incarnation in baltimore. the other will be in silver spring outside st. mark's episcopal church. the issue will be on the ballot in maryland on election day. 8 minutes after 7:00. still ahead, the number of meningitis cases rises along with the death toll. >> and an unlikely hero. a pepco worker to the rescue after a child is trapped in a

burning home. he tells us how his instinct kicked in. >> get ready to shake, rattle and roll. make sure we're ready in case the earth shakes again in our region. an earthquake drill is taking place today. we have the details coming up next. >> as we head to break, a live look outside now at interstate 66. we'll get the latest on weather and traffic coming up from tucker and julie in just a bit. we'll be right back. you. we know you. we know you have to rise early... and work late,

with not enough sleep in between. how you sometimes need to get over to that exit, like, right now. and how things aren't... just about you anymore. introducing the all-new, smart-sensing... honda accord. it starts with you. marywe invest in them.umber one in america because but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland. it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you, that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.

making headlines this morning, more than 20,000 confidential boy scout documents will be made public today in the so-called perversion files the identity of more than 1,000 leaders and volunteers accused of sexual or inappropriate behavior with boys from 1965 to 1985 will be released. the organization is being

forced to release the documents as part of a sexual abuse lawsuit. reports suggests in some cases, scout leaders were allowed to continue working. despite the report, the boy scouts says it's doing everything it can to move forward and protect children. four more people have died from the fungal meningitis outbreak, bringing the nationwide death toll now to 19. nearly 250 people have been sickened, including the mayor in new hampshire who says he received a steroid shot for back pain last month. the steroids have been linked to a new england pharmacy now under federal investigation. it's not a scientific survey, but a knoxville, tennessee car wash has come up with an unofficial poll on the presidential race. customers can choose between two lanes, one for president obama supporters and the other for mitt romney supporters. the owner says the idea is all about getting people to the polls this november. >> and people to your car wash. >> that's what it's really

about. >> a third aisle, free car wash -- >> that's right. that would throw the whole thing. >> exactly. nice start to the day. lots of sunshine at the moment. changes in the form of clouds and eventually showers, maybe thunderstorms later tonight as our front approaches from the west. there's a live look at your satellite radar. sun getting up here in about six minutes. should be a nice sunrise. clouds are on the horizon to the west. i know the rain doesn't look impressive at the moment, but it will become reenergized later today as it starts to approach. if you want to time the rain, i think we'll be fine for much of the day. i think the evening commute should be nice and dry. as we get into the evening hours and overnight tonight, we'll get a quick batch of rain here, and the good news is, it's going to clear by early tomorrow. right back into the sunshine by tomorrow afternoon. officially we're under a slight risk for severe weather tonight across the mid-atlantic. it's possible we could get thunderstorms going with the

front. if you hear rumbles of thunder, don't be surprised and the risk would be mostly with the gusty winds as the front moves to our north and east. clouds increasing this afternoon. rain showers tonight. could be thunderstorms as well. clear out of here early tomorrow. there's your weekend forecast. looks great. sunshine, 60s saturday and sunday. monday, tuesday and wednesday temperatures back in the 70s. bless you, tony. >> apparently we need rain to get the pollen down ver it is that's bothering you. >> yeah. something in the studio. i sneeze more in here than outside. >> it's tucker. it happens to me, too. let's check in with julie wright. >> for once, it's not me. but tony, you missed it earlier, they were doing the car wash and sarah and i started singing and i did a little dance. >> car wash, yeah, i like that song. >> those cars never seem to stop, come and work, work. it's been in our heads all

morning long. >> i understand. >> northbound i-95, accident activity remains here prince williams parkway. tow trucks are on the scene, but drawing your attention. delays leaving stafford to quantico. traffic slowing leaving dale city past the accident scene. slowing from 395 beltway to king. traveling in from waldorf to charles county, 301 at billingsly, accident scene. northbound 5 is in good shape. no problems leaving clinton to the beltway. northbound 295 below speed here at 27 miles per hour headed for the inbound 11th street bridge. inbound 50 delays slowing out of riverdale. no problems to report leaving college park to 270. lanes open southbound on 270, but a slow go approaching 109

delays in germantown. whatever was here on the 14th street bridge has cleared. slow across the potomac and no incidents on the wilson bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. thank you. in a few hours from now nearly 2 million people in five states and d.c. will practice what to do during an earthquake. the great shakeout is said to begin at 10:18 this morning. experts say the best thing to do is drop, take cover and hold on. this is the first time maryland, virginia and d.c. are joining a year after the 5.8 magnitude quake hit the east coast. pepco lineman is getting credit for his heroic actions after spotting a house fire. >> he and other members of his crew rushed into the burning home several times to put out the flames and hings really got heated after they learned a child was still sleeping in the house upstairs. audrey barnes has the story.

>> reporter: a pepco crew upgrading electricity to a home under construction in upper marlboro spotted a fast moving fire inside. the 19-year-old lineman ryan calahan rushed in. >> the flame started back up and started burning again. i walked back in, put my hood over my head, walked back in and put the fire out again. >> reporter: the homeowner, who was walking her 7 and 9-year- old children though the bus stop, ran back and let the crew know her 3 #-year-old was sleeping upstairs. she sprinted into the home, with calahan behind her. >> she went out the top story, her and her son were fine. >> reporter: the stubborn fire refused to be put out. so calahan and the crew stepped in to turn everything off. the grateful homeowner is thankful the crew was there and her family wasn't hurt. >> they are heros and god sent them at the right time. i don't know what would have happened, because i was by

myself and the kids. >> reporter: the reluctant hero says the mother is a hero, too. >> she ran in the house not knowing what was going on, i have to give it to her. >> reporter: audrey barnes, fox 5 news. >> good work. >> definitely. it's 7:19. still ahead, a local day care is under investigation. >> soon, a less hectic commute for drivers in northern virginia, or so we hope. new details about the express lanes project. >> and get ready to rock out with some of the most magical disney idols. the characters are hitting the ice in fairfax county. holly invites you to be her guest this morning. we'll check back in with her a little later on. stay with us. as governor, i cut five b billion dollars in spendg

and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

we've got 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work. they're suffering in this country. the president would prefer raising taxes. the problem with raising taxes is that it slows down the rate of growth. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone, because when the economy's growing slow like this, when we're in recession you shouldn't raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

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welcome back. maryland regulators are investigating an incident at a bethesda day care center. four toddlers at the center wandered away from a play ground and into the streets on monday. the day care center says it conducted an investigation and has fired the teachers involved and has reported the incident to the appropriate oversight agencies. at least one of the mothers of the children found in the streets have taken her son out of the day care facility. construction on the express lanes of the virginia bell way is nearly done. those lanes will be available for 14 miles. cars that use the lanes must have an e-zpass transponder. tolls will vary as the lanes get more crowded. cost will go up, so traffic will ease off. the average speed will maintain at a minimum of 45 miles per hour. to ride for free, hov 3 carpoolers must have the newer e-zpass transponder. solo drivers in rush hours likely will be charged between 3 and $6.

offpeak could be around one to two dollars. president john f. kennedy will be honored today at arlington cemetery. in october 1961, jfk visited fort bragg, north carolina and named the green beret the official head gear of the army special forces. he called it a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. here is a sign the holidays are around the corner, the national christmas tree lighting ceremony will be december 6th. 17,000 free tickets will be given out during an online lottery. it will open at october 25th and close the following monday at 10:00 a.m. winners will be notified by november 1. for more information, go to myfoxdc.com. i know they have to get on it early so people can get the tickets, but really, already here? >> not quite ready for those

kinds of stories. coming up in a little bit, some democrats in fairfax are concerned over the way things will play out at the polls on election day. the "washington post" robert mccartney is here to explain what the fuss is all about. >> now that the dust has settled from sunday's historic sky dive, researchers believe fearless felix may help them save the lives of pilots and airline passengers. >> as we led to the break -- head to the break, here's a live look outside. the latest on traffic and julie coming up next. it's 7:25. investments, personally, about paid 14% in federal taxes, is that fair to the guy higher rate than you did? romney: "yeah, encourage economic growth." us. is that the way to grow america? this message.

felix baumgartner's ride could help save astronauts. the jump yielded a wealth of information about the effects on the human body. it could help with new space suits and medical treatment. he hit 834 miles per hour, breaking the speed of sound. that is fantastic.

>> yeah. some interesting side benefits from it. >> because everything was being monitored by the suit as he was falling. >> yeah. . fascinating stuff. >> not too bad outside. cloud cover moving in shortly. early sunshine and mild temperatures. highs in the low 70s. should be dry for most of your thursday. we have a few changes in the form of rain showers and potentially with thunderstorms later tonight. >> okay. >> still need the rain, so. >> still need the rain. honestly our best chance for the next seven days. most of the next seven days featuring quiet conditions. cool, 54 at reagan national. not as cold as 24 hours ago with 30s on the map. i take it back, frederick is now 37 degrees. 50 at dulles. 43 in manassas. 49 in fredericksburg. annapolis is 58 degrees. cool start to the day. should be lots of sunshine to start things out. we will see the clouds increase before long and eventually a

good chance of rain showers around here. i think the best timing on this will be later this evening. most of your day will be dry. there's a live look, you can see the clear skies to start the day. cloud cover not too far off to the west into west virginia. and there are your showers. band of showers doesn't look impressive at the moment. but it will become enhanced as it gets closer to the washington area this afternoon and tonight. decent chance of widespread rain. as i mentioned earlier, potential for thunderstorms later tonight, and some of the storms could be on the strong side. officially, under a slight risk for severe weather. frontal system comes through. it's moving quickly, so most of the energy will be out of here overnight and by the time we get up tomorrow morning, we should be clearing things out. maybe an early shower. i think we'll be looking at a mostly sunny day tomorrow, with temperatures back in the 70s and that sets us up for a great looking weekend as well. 71 today. early sun. clouds this afternoon. it will be breezy.

gusting to about 15 later today. and mild. 71, few degrees above normal. 58 tonight. mild overnight. showers and storms likely as that front moves through. here's your accu weather seven- day,o sign of rain after tonight. friday, saturday, sunday look great. weekend nice and quiet. cool with temperatures in the 60s. we get a nice october rebound and temperatures by middle of next week back in the mid-70s. that's weather. let's do traffic with julie wright. she has the latest on your roads. >> seems like things are getting busy now around the capital beltway. slow leaving 295 to route 1 by way of the wilson bridge. 14miles per hour northbound on 295, that's how slow it is. 301 at billingsly, the accident has cleared. delays inbound along route 50.

16miles per hour coming in from riverdale. delays continue inbound along new york avenue. crash to report northbound north capital street at michigan. stay to the right. authorities are checking for a crash at georgia avenue and piney branch in northwest. accident activity was in the lane here at the prince william parkway. it's cleared. overall traffic slows in stafford. inner loop is below speed leaving springfield towards gallows road. 395 heavy and slow over the 14th street bridge. earlier incidents have cleared. northbound 395 at 14th street accident activity reported in the two right lanes. that's a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. thank you, julie. some democrats in fairfax county say the cards are stacked against their candidate because election day procedures could prevent democrats from voting there. "washington post" affairs columnist robert mccartney writes about it and joins us. thanks for coming in. >> good to be here.

>> this is a good story that needs to be highlighted and we're glad you're here to talk about it. first off, what is it the fairfax county electoral board is doing that is controversial? >> there's two things the democrats in fairfax county are complaining about. one, they're complaining that some of the rulings by the electoral board and by the registrar, who are, that apparatus is controlled by the republicans this year, because the governor of virginia is a republican. they're saying some of the rulings, some of the practices they've instituted for voting day, especially having to do with polling, how elections observers can act at the also h ballots will be handled, that those rulings are unfair, potentially unfair, they think, to democrats. so they're complaining about that. they may go to court. the democrats may go to court

to try to force the registrar and electoral board to change those policies. the republicans who control the apparatus, they say they're just following federal and state law. that's one issue. then the other issue, which is very interesting, i think, is that two of the officials in the apparatus, that's actual running the election in fairfax county, have long time records as very active republican partisans. one of them in particular, the vice chairman of the electoral board in fairfax county, this guy is one of the most controversial figures in election law in the country. he was -- he's one of the leading proponents of voter identification laws, which democrats hate. and he was actually blocked by democrats from being appointed to the federal election commission during the bush administration, because they thought he was too biased and this guy is on the electoral

board in fairfax. >> talk a little bit about that voter i.d. law in virginia and what that means for folks and why it is so controversial for democrats. >> okay. the voter i.d. law is new in virginia, and it basically tightened the requirements for presenting i.d. in some ways. particularly it said you have to have some kind of identification in order to vote in virginia. previously if you showed up at the polls and you didn't have i.d., you could just swear, you could sign, you know, a statement saying i am who i am. they called it the popeye law, i am who i am. and you could vote. now you have to have i.d. it does not require a photo i.d. many kinds of identification are accepted. it's not nearly as strict a law in virginia as in some other states, such as in pennsylvania, where the law is not going to apply because the courts ruled it was too strict. but it is controversial. this was passed entirely by the

republicans. democrats were totally against it. and it's going to be in place for this election. some of these complaints the democrats have in fairfax have to do basically with allow that -- how that law, how the results of that voter i.d. law will be implemented in the polls by elections observers and lawyers who are trying to ensure a fair vote. >> do they have more of a complaint about the law itself or the people on the board? >> all of the above. first of all, let me emphasize, there is no evidence yet that anything is actually askew, okay? this is basically the democrats raising concerns about what might happen on election day. they don't like the voter i.d. law. but that was passed. that's the law. that's going to happen. they're complaining that the republican appointed elections officials in fairfax are interpreting the law in ways that they don't like, that the

democrats don't like and may go to court over, because they don't want those laws applied in certain ways. and they're very skeptical of the people in the positions of power on this, because of their background. >> but the thing is, as we talked about before, this is an issue that could come up across the country, because this is how electoral -- >> absolutely. >> -- boards happen. they're elected by whoever is in power at the time. in this case, virginia an important battleground state -- >> absolutely. virginia is one of the three states, with ohio and florida, that are considered the most important swing states in the presidential election, number one. number two, in fairfax county is the biggest jurisdiction in the state, and by far the most heavily atidemocr jurisdiction. the democrats need -- the reason the democrats are raising this issue now is they need a big margin coming out of fairfax county if they want to

carry virginia. because they have to offset the republicans' advantage elsewhere in the state. so they're worried the republicans are going to try to, you know, keep that margin down to carry the state. and they're suggesting that maybe, maybe stuff is going to be done in ways that isn't quite proper or, what they would say illegal or twisted. >> which of course, like you say, we have no proof. >> we don't know. but they're raising the concern and pointing to the fact that these officials, who are actually running the process, have histories as republican partisans. as you said, that's true -- the way our elections process works in the united states is that the people who are running what is supposed to be a neutral process, are anything but neutral themselves. they tend to be some of the most partisan people. if you put enough of them in there and have a legal frame work around it, that it will all come out okay.

well, we saw in the florida recount in 2000 that there was a lot of controversy. >> yes, there was. don't want that again. >> about whether that worked out so well. and frankly, my concern is that it's conceivable that we could have something like that in fairfax. >> oh, bob, let's hope not. >> absolutely. nobody wants that. >> absolutely not. >> the democrats are saying, let's pay attention to this. let's look at this. they have a total partisan interest in pushing this. but it is an integrity of the process issue that i think deserves a lot of attention. >> i think so. thank you for bringing it to our attention. we'll be watching. bob mccartney with the "washington post," thank you for coming in today. >> good to be here. >> tony, over to you. >> thank you very much. worth watching. still ahead, mother nature puts the tiger's dreams of a sweep on hold. >> and appears new college graduates are carrying a bigger load when they walk off the graduation stage. we'll explain that and more after the break.

it's 7:39. ur ownay as go veors, to lead by exple. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

maybe you're wondering what to believe about mitt romney. well, when it comes to protecting your access to birth control... and the basic women's health care services planned parenthood provides... one thing we must remember, is this: i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] he'll cut it off. cut us off. planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. [ female announcer ] women need to know the real mitt romney. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

would n all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

this just into the fox 5 newsroom, another big blow to print business. "newsweek" magazine announced this morning it will stop its print publication. the plan is to go all digital at the end of the year. the last print edition is set for december 21. it merged with the daily beast after being sold by the "washington post" company in 2010. bad news for recent college grads, two-thirds borrowed an average of nearly $27,000. that's up 5% from last year. nationally student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion. that's more than the nation's credit card debt. school supplies from a closed detroit high school will hit the auction block online. among the items, tennis rackets, pianos, science lab equipment, lockers and baseball equipment. the money raised will be used to help the school district pay down its $75 million budget deficit.

evacuation orders lifted in the hills overlooking santa barbara, california, after fire crews got a handle on a wildfire. thanks to calmer winds and an aggressive ground attack, it's now 50% contained. the tigers will try again to eliminate the yankees in detroit today. rain postponed game four of the american league championship game last night. it's been rescheduled for this afternoon. meanwhile, national league, the cardinals have taken a 2-1 series lead by beating the giants in st. louis. that game was delayed three and a half hours by rain. at what point do they call a game? three and a half hour delay it's significant. >> playoff game they wait it out. >> because they have to try to get it in, because they have schedule concerns, too. >> exactly. the same rain impacted games last night headed our way really later tonight for us. i guess if you're watching well to the west, might get it this

afternoon. most of us, in the evening hours. off to a cool start. should be a nice, sunny start. at least the next couple of hours we'll get sunshine. 55 now in washington. nothing too extreme. 46 in boston. slightly cooler air well to the north and west. chicago 49. eventually we'll get the cooler air. won't start to get in here until later friday and friday night. let's do futurecast. sunshine to start your day. watch what happens later this afternoon as this frontal system approaches from the west. i'll put it in motion. clouds later this morning. i think by this afternoon we'll be partly to mostly cloudy, particularly late afternoon. notice at 7:00 tonight we're still holding off most of the rain to the west. the rain will get better organized and become enhanced as it moves through later tonight. here we are at 10:00. the potential for thunderstorm activity around here. if you hear some claps of thunder, don't be surprised overnight tonight. could have locally heavy rain as well as this system moves through.

the good news, it will be moving fast enough that by early tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m., starting to clear out. much of your friday should feature sunshine and mild temperatures, with highs back in the 70s. most of our accu weather seven- day forecast looks great with the exception of later tonight with showers and storms moving through. weekend forecast, mid-60s saturday. sunday looks great. monday, tuesday, wednesday, sunshine. it was in the 70s -- temperatures in the 70s. got to love this time of year. >> thanks. >> not a drop in the sky after today. >> yes. let's hope we get a little rain. >> let's go to julie wright find out what's happening on the roads. >> very busy now. delays continuing northbound on 395 headed up towards king street. accident activity with only the left lane getting by in our main line. a lot of activity on the roads. fire and rescue, police, they're here. gridlocked from the capital beltway headed north and only one left lane gets by traveling

north between seminary road and king street. once you get past this point, the pace has improved. better continuing across the inbound 14th street bridge. map out things now, if you are continuing along 301 and billingsly road, cleared now. slow traffic northbound 5 headed to the capital beltway. outer loop out of college park from route one to georgia avenue, 20 minutes. no accidents, just volume delays southbound 95 backing up out of lawyer, inbound on route 50, heavy volume inbound this morning out of riverdale. 16miles per hour. crash northbound north capital street at michigan, stay to the right to get by. trouble on the inner loop of the beltway, heavy and slow local lanes headed to virginia. 16miles per hour travels in from route 10. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. thanks. we're going to show you a video that is going viral today. before we do, we want you to know the guy is okay.

going to be tough to look at. a man in germany thought he could canon ball through an ice covered pool. the ice was clearly thicker than he realized. the man was able to crawl off the ice. he is okay. just his pride hurt, i'm sure. you can hear it, too. >> he is laughing. watch this. [ laughter ] >> the person with the camera laughs. >> he is okay. and even he was laughing at the end as he's crawling back across. >> okay. >> was not a good idea. >> no it wasn't. now for a smoother time on the ice, a superstar lineup of disney characters skating into fairfax county. nothing like that i'm sure. >> no, thank goodness. holly morris is live with more details. >> reporter: good morning,

guys. i'm getting a little quality time in with belle here. it is the belle from beauty and the beast. she is one of the disney rock stars in town for this year's disney on ice, rocking ever after. it's going on here at the patriot center where we are live. coming up, we're going to show you firsthand why you and your family should me out for disney magic. it's all live next on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. ♪ owze: itust seem such.. infrment on oulives. how dare they step into my life that way. it's none of their business. he's ting to restrict us, again. he's taking us backwards. george allen is the last thing we need in washington. anncr: the democratic senatorial campaign committee is... responsible for the content of this advertising.

who move our country forward, work hard, raise families, and keep america strong. but mitt romney's budget plan will hurt the middle class, raising taxes on the average family by up to $2,000, while giving a tax break of $250,000 to multimillionaires. doesn't mitt romney understand we can't rebuild america by tearing down the middle class. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

for the next few days disney characters will invade northern virginia. >> i think invade sounds a little vicious. they're in town for disney on ice. they're performing a show called rocking ever after. holly is live at the patriot center in fairfax with more. hi, holly. >> reporter: good morning. i don't pull my skates out for

just anybody. but disney, you know i love. and this show might be one of my favorites, because it really does showcase all of your favorite musical moments from your favorite disney shows. that's why they're calling it disney on ice rocking ever after. we are rocking it out thanks to people like jennifer groover. is that your real last name? >> yes, ma'am. we're out here rocking and grooving. >> reporter: i understand this is your first disney on ice show? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: last night was the first performance here. >> absolutely. >> reporter: how was it? >> fabulous. a great audience. excited kids, great families and lots of energy coming to the ice and giving off the ice. >> reporter: tell me a little bit in terms of being an ensemble performer. what's your responsibilities for the show? >> well, as an ensemble skater, its so important to put your all out there for all group

numbers. and you have a lot of people on the ice, so you need to make sure your energy is at the same level as the other skaters and you're all trying to have that group effort to communicate the number. >> reporter: growing up, obviously you've been skating your whole life? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: did you ever dream of being in a show like this? >> absolutely. absolutely. from the time i was six all i ever wanted to do was skate fast. and i think i was 8 years old -- >> reporter: sorry to hold you back this morning. >> it's okay. 8years old i saw my first show and i knew this was what i wanted to do. >> reporter: the first time you stepped on the ice and you were part of this disney on ice rocking ever after, what was it like? >> the moment is indescribable. it is just what ever skater dreams of, every performer to have that huge filled stadium and my family was in the audience, still supporting me. you'll never forget it. the energy is phenomenal. >> reporter: let's giver a memorable moment this morning. without further adieu, we will

skate off the ice and hand it over to the cast for a little "be our guest." ♪ ♪

♪ >> reporter: disney on ice, rocking ever after is only here through this weekend at the patriot center. they have one show tonight, two shows friday, three shows on saturday, and two shows on sunday as well. myfoxdc.com is our web site. we have a link to theirs, so you can get your tickets now. coming up in our next hour, if merida is your favorite princess in the show "brave," she'll be coming out for us and for young special girls that will get to meet her live on our show this morning. all right, ready? oh, yes, we made it to the kick line! now i can officially throw it back to you in the studio. >> kids are going to love it. >> yes, they will. presidential race has been dominating headlines of course, but there's also a lot of

senate seats up for grabs. ahead, we'll break down some of the hottest races and take a look at who is most in danger of losing seats. >> also, every year americans spend millions getting a good scare at a haunted house. isn't that the theme music from "unsolved mystery"? >> i think you're right. >> i like it. >> i don't. >> the fox medical team will take a closer look and tell us what happens to your brain when you go through a frightening event. we'll be right back. i momoved to new york to work in fashion. so i had to look the part. t.j.maxx is such a great place cause i know when i go in there, i'm gonna score. they've got such great deals on all my favorite brands. fashion direct from designers.

savings direct to you. t.j.maxx. would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

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straight ahead, tension on the campaign trail. why one of mitt romney's sons jokingly said he wanted to throw a punch at the president during tuesday's debate. >> a terror plot in new york city broken up by a federal string. we'll have a live report. >> later, the health benefits of multivitamins. why it may be doing more for you than you once thought. good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> i'm wisdom martin. allison has the morning off. time to talk about our weather

situation. here is tucker barnes. >> good morning. nice start to our day. little cool. temperatures in the 40s and 50s. mid-50s in town. changes in the forecast today. starting the day with sunshine. unlike yesterday when we finished the day with a brilliant afternoon, clouds will increase and eventually a chance for showers and maybe thunderstorms around here. i think the timing will be tonight. much of your thursday should be dry. we'll see clouds increase later. there's a live look. showers into western virginia. excuse me, western west virginia, and ohio. still several hours away. not concerned with rain over the immediate time frame here. temperatures, we are cool. reagan national currently in the 50s. 55degrees. dulles, 51 degrees. bwi marshall 47. high temperatures later today on the mild side. breezes will pick up out of the south ahead of our front, with high temperatures topping out in the low 70s. more details on the forecast, including a sneak peek at the weekend coming up in a couple of minutes.

still trouble in virginia, northbound 395 working up towards king street. accident activity still in play here, with only the left lane getting by. again, in the main line traffic congested out of springfield, northbound on 395, working past this scene continuing up towards the pentagon. you'll find in the local lanes, i should say the hov lanes, open. no delay at this time. main line squeezing to the left before king street. slow traffic inner loop of the beltway headed to gallows road. delays continue from shady grove road to the split. outer loop, below speed continuing from college park headed around towards georgia avenue. almost 20 minutes on that outer loop. southbound 29 slowing out of white oak headed for four corners. 95 on the brakes out of laurel headed to the beltway. inbound 50, 410 into northeast,

all the lanes open. 295, below speed continuing from the beltway towards the inbound 11th street bridge. inner loop slowing to 16 miles per hour out of oxon hill. we have accident activity northbound 210 at fort washington. police, fire and rescue responding. that's a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. julie, thank you very much. want to warn you the details in this story are disturbing. we're beginning this hour with breaking news from the district. police and fire officials tell us a man has died in what appears to be a tragic accident. the man was discovered on fire in a home on newton place northwest around 3:30 this morning. he was taken to the hospital, but he later died. it appears an oxygen tank may have played a role in that fire. to politics now, both candidates will be telling jokes at a new york fundraiser tonight for low income

children. politicians have appeared at the annual alfred e. smith foundation dinner since world war ii. president obama is campaigning in new hampshire today and then will make an appearance on comedy central's daily show. he visits fairfax tomorrow. romney was also in virginia yesterday. he held a rally in leesburg. romney only has two public appearances this week, and he gets ready for -- as he gets ready for next monday's final presidential debate. meanwhile, romney's oldest son, tag, is making headlines for saying he wanted to take a swing at the president while watching tuesday's debate. he made the joking remark during an interview with a north carolina radio station. in response to a question on how it felt to watch the president call his father a liar. he has reportedly taken on a larger role in his father's campaign recently. tonight virginia's senate candidates face off one last time. the latest poll shows democrat tim kaine with a slim lead over

republican george allen. it starts at 7:00 in blacksburg tonight. tony? wisdom, the bomb that a bangladesh man wanted to use to blow up the federal reserve building in new york was fake, but the plan was not. he is now under arrest facing serious charges. they insist the public was never in danger because the suspect was under the watchful eye of a terrorism task force. fox5's melanie alnwick is live with an update. >> 21-year-old quazi nafis entered the united states in january on a student visa. but investigators say his goal was to launch an attack on u.s. soil. he wanted to form a terrorist cell and began seeking out al- qaida contacts in the united states through facebook and twitter in july. instead, he hooked up an fbi informant. he first wanted to blow up the new york stock exchange, but

settled on the federal reserve bank. he expected the attack would include the killing of women and children. he was given inactive materials, which he used to build a 1,000-pound bomb. he attempted to detonate it several times yesterday in lower manhattan, and that's when he was arrested. new york city police commissioner ray kelly. >> i think it shows again that law enforcement is vigilant. certainly we understand that the public can become complacent. had no successful attack here in 11 years. i want to congratulate the fbi and the joint terrorist task force for good work in this case. we have to be vigilant and i can assure you that we're going to remain vigilant. >> quazi nafis is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-qaida. he faces life in prison if convicted. new york city police commissioner ray kelly also said this is the 15th blot

since september 11th to commit a terror attack in new york city. each one so far thwarted by police and other law enforcement agencies. tony? >> thank you very much. meanwhile, in the middle east, suspected u.s. drone air strikes have killed at least seven al-qaida militants in yemen. they had apparently gathered at a farm in the southern part of the country. security officials say the air strikes came after tips from local residents that an al- qaida attack on the town was imminent. the death toll from that fungal meningitis outbreak keeps rising. since yesterday, the centers for disease control confirmed four more cases, bringing the total number of deaths linked to the tainted steroid shot to 19. total number of people infected now stands at 245. meanwhile, a virginia man who said he was infected says he is suing the massachusetts pharmacy blamed for the outbreak. the pharmacy hasn't commented

yet. and officials don't know how the shot became contaminated. the jury in the trial of two prince george's county officers could begin deliberating tomorrow. the beating of the student was caught on camera. it happened in 2010 during wild celebrations after the terps beat duke in a basketball game. yesterday the judge dismissed first degree assault charges against officers harrison and baker. they still face charges of second degree assault and misconduct in office. from coast to coast, and here in this area, some 14 million people will take part in the great shakeout. it's a drill to help get people ready for an earthquake. during this drill school children, workers and first responders will practice dropping to the ground, covering their heads and holding onto something sturdy. experts say those steps will help minimize injuries in an

actual earthquake. our region is participating for the first time. presidential race is front and center. but a handful of senate races could have just as big an impact on the future on american governance. >> we'll take a close look at what's up for grabs. >> plus, a spectacular sight in the sky. we'll show you pictures of the meteor shower that made impact in california. it is 8:09. we'll be right back.    as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending

and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

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all right. welcome back. california's bay area got the sight in the sky last night. take a look. this is video of a meteor streaking across the horizon. it was visible from santa cruz to san jose to oakland. thousands of people logged onto social networks to report seeing the fireball and hearing a boom. astronomers say it made an

impact, and was about the size of a car before it broke up in the atmosphere. >> wow. look at that picture. that would be kind of scary if you see that coming your way. >> i've seen them every now and then before. it's rather striking when you see it. >> yeah. >> it's misleading. i saw one i thought landed in a field near me, and read reports it was seen in new jersey, too. >> never know. >> very cool. let's go to tucker barnes now to find out what's happening with weather and -- >> warmup factor of the day. time for our my first 5 photo of the day. we say hello to -- adorable. this is mr. trenton -- >> elijah. >> elijah. thank you, tony. >> he looks cute. >> you should have said howdy. >> howdy, trenton. >> halloween costume, i would assume? >> his grandparents say the 18- month-old is getting ready for

trick or treating so yeah, you got it. >> amazing that's still a classic. cowboy. >> yeah. >> you think he's dressing up like a cowboy from toy story? >> oh, yeah. that must be it. woody. >> woody, yeah, thank you. i couldn't remember his name. you think? >> we don't know. >> he's probably seen it. >> okay. >> move along. >> where is allison? we need allison. you guys aren't helping me over there at all. either way, trenton, i love the picture. to send in your child's picture, go to myfoxdc.com and click on mornings. that's what happens when you get three guys to do this segment. let's go. weather. sunshine. we got lots of beautiful sunshine. clouds on the increase later this morning. i think by afternoon we'll be partly to mostly cloudy and eventually pretty good chance of rain showers. i know it doesn't look impressive at the moment. this is the same frontal system that brought the delays and

cancelzations to the baseball games to the west yesterday. when it gets in here, could see showers and thunderstorms. some of those storms could be on the strong side. timing is strange being in october and at night. the dynamics are suggesting we get get good thunderstorms later tonight. slight risk for severe weather, and the biggest risk would be gusty winds. again, i think the timing would be after 9:00, between 9:00 and 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. good news, will clear out well tomorrow. after early clouds, back into the sunshine. 71 today. showers, thunderstorms tonight. clearing out tomorrow. the weekend looks fantastic, with highs in the 60s. nice rebound of temperatures, middle of next week back in the middle 70s. let's do traffic and get the latest from julie wright. >> on the roads now inner loop of the bell way slow from route 5, ranch avenue to the wilson bridge. authorities are on the scene of a crash in the local lanes before you commit to route 1.

stacking up your commute, down to 16 miles per hour. delays around the capital beltway as expected, southbound 270 on and off the brakes out of germantown to the split. all lanes open. leaving 95 to georgia avenue, delays into the sunshine, university boulevard to new hampshire avenue. live coming across the american legion bridge, heavy and steady, but no accidents. that's a check of your fox 5 on- time traffic. julie, thank you very much. with the election in less than a month all eyes have been on the presidential race. but some key races could have a major impact on the nation's political future. today we're taking a closer look at some of the too close to call senate races. we're joined by ambassador ira shapiro and author of "the last great senate." good morning to you.

thank you for coming in. >> good morning, good to be here. >> good to have you back on the broadcast. let's talk about overall, we have the presidential picture obviously. but the senate races in many cases are key races that certainly will influence whoever the president is, how much cooperation he can get out of the senate and the congress. >> absolutely. the democrats have a 53-47 majority right now. but they're defending 23 out of 33 seats. early on it looked like the republicans had a very good shot of taking the senate, taking control of the senate. that doesn't look as clear now. but there is still a lot of close races to be decided. >> in some cases, some of these races have gotten closer this some recent weeks. >> they have. and it's an interesting dynamic, because some of them have been unexpected. there's a great deal of money sloshing around out there coming in from super pacs,

which may influence races in ways that we wouldn't have expected. you see democratic candidates doing well in so-called red states and some of the republican candidates surprising in blue states. >> generally speaking are incumbents in trouble? been this feeling nothing is getting done on capitol hill. >> well, it's interesting, some of the incumbents manage to establish a special connection with their states. so you have veterans like dianne feinstein in california, ben carden in maryland, tom carper, delaware, they're in fine shape. some of the younger senators start out very well, like hill brand in new york. but in general, it's not the greatest time to be an incumbent when capitol hill is at an all-time low in terms of its standing. >> want to go through some of

these races and we'll put up graphics. arizona, you've got jeff flake, representative jeff flake against richard carmona, former surgeon general. connecticut, we have linda mcman against representative christopher murray. >> i think in arizona, mr. carmona, who was a medic in the vietnam war, surgeon general ungeorge w. bush, really an independent who decided to run as a democrat, has been making a strong race. representative flake was probably the favorite in a state that doesn't usually elect democrats to the senate anymore. it's been a very close race. now it's gotten nasty in terms of a few of the ads. but it's still too close to call. >> let's mention indiana,

that's on the list, where you've got richard murdock, the republican, up against joe donnelly, the democrat. >> it's a special race from my standpoint, because i thought murdock's triumph over richard luger was truly a setback for good governor. luger was a great senator. murdock has said really the thing in washington is republicans are compromising too much. which is something that no one else has noticed. he's trying to moderate a little bit. i think some of the tea party supported candidates are recognizing their rhetoric doesn't quite go as well in general election. but he's still in pretty good shape in a state that is tight. it's a red state. but representative donnelly is running hard as well. >> let's go to the second graphic. we've got missouri, montana, north dakota, virginia of

course, wisconsin. missouri interesting, because todd akin still in this, despite the controversy surrounding him. tell me about that one. >> well, representative akin of course was pressured by many of the national republicans to get out of the race after he made that terrible comment about legitimate rape. he has stayed in the race, and missouri has trended very sharply to the right, big influence of the christian right there. so he's competitive despite what he's done. i believe claire mccaskill will still win that race, but it's a contest. >> we've talked about virginia a lot. quickly, wisconsin, tommy thompson running there, republican, former wisconsin governor and cabinet member, of course, against tammy baldwin, who is the democrat. >> tommy thompson was an icon in that state, and everyone thought he was going to win the seat easily. but he had a tough four-way

primary, former governor. hasn't run in a long time. tammy baldwin has run a very strong campaign. so probably has a slight edge, but it's tightening up again. it will go right to the end. baldwin would be the first openly gay senator to be elected, but she's such a strong candidate and appealing candidate, that she's done very well. >> very interesting. a lot of people will be watching these races. we have the local ones as well. ambassador shapiro, thank you for coming in. >> thank you, tony. >> stay with us. we'll be back. it's 8:22. [ mitt romney ] look at the evidence of the last four years. under the president's policies, middle income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. middle-income americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. this is a tax in and of itself. i'll call it the economy tax.

i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

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you might not believe it's a hundred calories. well ok then, new yoplait greek 100. it is so good. ♪ this year's college seniors will graduate with a degree and record high debt. as of last year, the average student had amassed nearly $27,000 in debt over four years. that's up 5% from 2010. the institute for college access and success project blames high tuition and tough job market. last month's latest commerce department report shows builders began construction on single family homes and apartments at the fastest rate in more than four years.

finally this half hour, the end of an era. about an hour ago, news week magazine announced it will stop printing its weekly periodical. it will go all digital by the end of the year. it published its first issue in 1933 and has been the second largest news magazine behind "time" for most of its existence. >> sign of the times. >> very much so. >> they've been losing money over there. >> the internet and world wide web. things are changing. still ahead, the health benefits of multivitamins. >> we'll sit down with a doctor for a look at how the daily supplements can help cut your risk for developing cancer. it's now 8:26 and you're watching fox 5 morning news. ah.

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making headlines in the day ahead, a show of solidarity for same-sex marriage. today maryland clergy members from two different denominations will hold news

conferences expressing their support for the state's november referendum. also today, a special honor for president john f. kennedy at arlington national cemetery. the army special forces command airborne will hold a wreath laying ceremony. in 1961, he named the green beret the official hat for the special forces. if you want to attend the national christmas tree lighting, might want to start planning now. ticket lottery for a spot on the list opens october 25th and ends october 29th. the winners will be notified november 1st. the event is december 6th. we have more information on myfoxdc.com under web links. it's already that time of year. time is flying by. >> here we go. i stepped outside a minute ago. beautiful morning. nice sunshine. trees are turning. >> oh, good.

>> last couple of days the leaves -- >> great time of year. >> perfect time of year. lots of sunshine. eventually the clouds will increase and showers and thunderstorms, or at least the possibility of thunderstorms back in the forecast later tonight. temperature now at reagan national, little cool. 55degrees. 54 this morning in leonardtown. not quite as cool as it was 24 hours ago. 50 in fredericksburg. frederick the upper 30s, 39 for you. 43 in martinsburg. cool in spots. warming up to the low 70s with a pretty good southerly breeze. winds will pick up out of the south, gusting to about 15 ahead of the front. sunshine to start. clear skies. clouds not too far out to the west. clouds will get in here, kind of a partly, mostly cloudy afternoon, i think. then eventually a chance for showers. i know it doesn't look impressive now. but as the front actually approaches later tonight, the

dynamics more conducive for showers and thunderstorms. times for most of us later tonight. 8:00, you can see the frontal system well out to the west. 6:00, 7:00, 8 tonight, most of the showers out to the west. starting to see the showers here out to the west at 8:00. there we go, showers and thunderstorms by 10:00. oranges and yellows indicating the possibility of thunderstorm activity. it's a quick mover and will get out of here later tonight and we'll be back into the sunshine by tomorrow, i think mid- morning. 71 today. early sun, afternoon clouds. breezy, mild. and i mentioned winds, and here's your accu weather seven- day forecast. showers get out of here early. weekend looks good. back into the 70s next week. wisdom, over to you. thank you very much. good news for fans of multivitamins, a new study from the university of texas shows daily use could cut your risk of developing cancer by 8%. but what does that mean for the

supplements? does it mean they're right for everyone? we'll ask an expert now. good morning. thank you for coming in and talking with us. >> good morning. >> tell us about this study. >> this is a very important study. it's a fairly large trial where they looked at 15,000 male, caucasion males over 50, and multivitamin versus placebo. they observed them over 10 years. they observed a modest, and we emphasize modest reduction in the risk of developing cancer, as you mentioned, 8%. it's a great study, because it addresses a very important point, and that is do we need to take a multivitamin once a day? we do as a population, a third

of the u.s. population takes a multivitamin and half of us over 30 take them routinely. >> here's a question for you. we talked about taking the multivitamin. is there an advantage versus taking the multivitamin versus one vitamin a, one vitamin d? >> great question. multiple studies looking at individual vitamins and their potential benefits in reducing the risk of cancer or chronic illness, and those studies have been controversial. the results have not been either positive or negative. the good news about this study is that it has not shown any severe side effects from taking multivitamins. however, it's very important to emphasize that taking a multivitamin is not an alternative to healthy lifestyle. about a third of cancers are related to our lifestyle and

our health habits. exercising is a very, very important factor. if we walk or exercise half an hour a day, four to five times a week -- >> use in combination with -- >> absolutely. walking, exercising can reduce your risk by 50% of developing cancer, as opposed to modest drop of 8%. >> this study was done with the people in the study were doctors? >> that's right. >> aren't they already healthier than everybody else? >> excellent question. yes, there may have been a little bit of a selection bias as we call it in research. these are doctors, mainly middle aged men, caucasian. they're already taking care of their health and habits. essentially, they're a healthier population. could we extend the results of

this study to those of us less social economicdily -- and the study couldn't be extended to women either. >> other good news in this study about cholesterol level and other things we saw. >> right. in a different study that was published by the journal of american medical association yesterday, there was a trend and a reduction in cholesterol over the course of the last 22 years by about 10-milligrams. that's actually significant, because we know cholesterol and ldl cholesterol are related to developing heart disease and strokes and so on. so a drop to less than 200 is significant. the bad cholesterol also dropped in this study over the course of 22 years or so. and those two observations are really crucial. theypoint to the fact that this

population might be getting healthier in the sense there might be a few issues that we have constituted, such as eliminating transfats from our diets. >> okay. >> reduction in consumption of carbs and so on. >> as always in health, the studies keep going. doctor, thank you very much. she is with foxhall internests. thank you. >> thank you. >> tony, over to you. why we love and will pay to have the daylights scared out of us. deena centifonti will join us from the fox medical team. >> first, rain delays baseball's postseason and the x factor's big reveal. when fans of both can get caught up next. it is 8:37. we'll be right back. e ve year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done.

we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. imillion dollars for maryland. one hundred schools.ty...ther question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes... where it's supposed to. more jobs, and millions for schools. baker: question seven will be good for our kids... our teachers, and our schools. leggett: keep maryland money in maryland. baker: please vote for question seven. leggett: vote for question seven. maybe you're wondering what to believe about mitt romney. well, when it comes to protecting your access to birth control... and the basic women's health care services planned parenthood provides...

one thing we must remember, is this: i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] he'll cut it off. cut us off. planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. [ female announcer ] women need to know the real mitt romney. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message. we've got 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work. they're suffering in this country. the president would prefer raising taxes. the problem with raising taxes

is that it slows down the rate of growth. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone, because when the economy's growing slow like this, when we're in recession you shouldn't raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. here is the 2-2 pitch. high fly ball to right. 2-1, st. louis. >> unlikely hero in game three of the national league championship series. matt carpenter came in for an injured beltran and blasted that two-run homer. it proved to be the winner.

cardinals win and take a lead in the series. game four is tonight at 8:00 on fox 5. yankees live to play another day because of rainy weather. detroit leads the series 3-0 and can close it out and move on to the world series with one more win. x factor fans woke up this morning confused and possibly angered after a schedule mixup last night. the top 16 contestants were supposed to be revealed, but the rained out baseball game interrupted the show, coming on 40 minutes later than expected and cutting out before all the contestants were named. fox later announced the entire episode will air again next tuesday at 7:00 p.m. it is 8:41 now. coming up, the science behind being scared. why anyone is willing to pay big money for that feeling of dread. >> but first, lacing up the

skates along side some of your disney favorites. good morning, holly. >> reporter: good morning to you, wisdom. it's not every day you get to hang out with disney royalty. but it is happening this morning at the patriot center. a special moment for very special girls. they're from girls inc. we'll tell you what it's all about and why you and your family should come out and see disney's on ice rocking ever after. stay with us. you're watching fox 5 morning news. man: to o some people, social security is just a number. but to me, it's money that i earned. i count on social security. and i don't want washington politicians like george allen... privatizing it.

if george allen wants to risk his own money on wall street... that's fine. but i don't want him risking mine. george allen just isn't watching out for us. anncr: the democratic senatorial campaign committee is... responsible for the content of this advertising.

♪ i just came to say hello ♪ time for our facebook fan of the day. we say hello to daniel williams. daniel tells us he loves tuning into fox 5 morning news every day. your chance to be tomorrow's fan, log onto our facebook page and leave a comment under daniel's picture. >> thank you, daniel. we appreciate that. it's behind the scenes look at disney on ice. this morning the princesses are teaming up with a group focused on helping all girls to be strong, smart and bold. >> holly morris joins us live from the patriot center in fairfax. good morning. >> reporter: wisdom, you were supposed to say holly morris

who is strong, smart and bold. >> that goes without saying. it needs not be spoken. >> reporter: oh. when you're thinking of princesses, you have mulan, cinderella, snow white. they have strong character. it's a perfect match when you're talking about a group called girls inc. kimberly stokes is the program coordinator. good morning to you. what a special morning. >> we're excited. >> reporter: tell about girls inc. >> we have girls of all ages. our main goal is to teach them how to become strong, smart and bold young women. >> reporter: they get to interact with people like this, one of the stars of disney on ice. what does this do for them? >> it's an important experience. exposure is very important.

most of the girls come from inner city and places around the d.c. area, and for them to get the opportunity to learn new things, a lot of them haven't been to an ice skating rink before, so this is wonderful and opens them ice to the opportunities women can be exposed to. >> reporter: and it's good to go behind the scenes. miss maria, i'm going to check in with her. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> reporter: i see you're teaching our young lady skaters how to be a performer on ice. in order to be a part of this show, what kind of character do they need to exhibit? >> really performing. we perform all kinds of characters. you need to adapt to the characters. it's fun to play a sassy character, a sweet character. >> reporter: i guess the key is you have to believe in that character no matter who you are, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: how are we doing, girls? quickly, who is your favorite

disney princess, or disney character? >> cinderella. >> cinderella. >> ariel. >> belle. >> reporter: belle is my favorite, too. >> ariel. >> ariel. >> pocahontas. >> reporter: i like it, a nice mix there. you've been getting your dancing lesson from maria. would you like an upclose and personal performance just for you? all right. not everybody gets to sit on the ice. sit down, turn around, and without further adieu, let's hand it over to the clan from "brave."

♪ >> reporter: myfoxdc.com is our web site. we have a link to girls inc. if you want to find out more about their wonderful program. we also have a link of course to disney on ice rocking ever after, which is going on here at the patriot center only here through sunday. we have one show tonight, two shows friday, three shows saturday, and two shows on sunday as well. get your tickets. they're going fast. coming up in our next hour, we're hanging with the big dogs. the fab four is going to join us, mickey, minnie, goofy, and donald will all be here to talk

about the show. back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. [ scary music ] halloween is right around the corner, and that means it's the season to be scared and to stair yourself. but the question is, why do we subject ourselves to things that scare us? deena centifonti from the fox medical team joins us live from detroit with a little insight. good morning to you, deena. you heard the question, why? >> right, wisdom. are you big on the haunted house? >> no, i'm too scared. i can't do it. >> me, too. me, too. that's why i sat out to find an explanation of why people do it. here's what we found. [ screaming ] >> reporter: let's go back to halloween, 2010. for me, the memories are still raw. >> my heart is racing. i'm starting to sweat because i am one of the biggest haunted houses in the country. >> reporter: admittedly, i'm not a haunted house person, and frankly, i don't understand why

so many are. waiting in long lines, forking over pocket change, following strangers in the darkness, in completed fear. for what? >> fear connects us to other people. >> reporter: this human nature expert is the author of a book that examines what makes us good or evil. he says the terror brings us closer to one another. >> it's interesting when we have scary experiences with a loved one, with a family member, with a stranger, we're chatting with them, having a good time and bonding to them. >> reporter: it's estimated americans spend between 300 million and $500 million a year visiting haunted houses. >> i just came out a side door, and i'm sweating, my heart is racing. >> reporr: those are the physical effects, but what happens to your brain? if you're with other people like in a crowded haunted

house, there's a release of oxytocin. >> roller coasters, soldiers in battle, extreme sports, they all release oxytocin and stress hormones and adrenalines. we see this this individuals who survive extreme events. soldiers in battle have strong connections. [ screams ] >> all that screaming and carrying on. wisdom, zack studies families as they go to amusement parks, too, and says it's the same thing. it's why you go back on the roller coaster, because of that feeling, we survived that together. >> to each his own. let's talk about tomatoes. already have a good reputation for reducing the risk of prostate cancer. there's new research that shows it may help you dodge another deadly disorder. tell us about that. >> may give you an excuse to

eat more pizza. lycopene, and you have heard about lycopene before. but this is a new study. it looked at about a thousand men between ages of 45 and 65, and they tested their blood levels for vitamins and lycopene levels. what they found was those who had the highest levels of lycopene in their blood had about a 50 to 60% lower rink of laying a stroke. stroke, of course, is a blood clot or some other barrier that cuts off the brain's blood supply. a serious problem. they think the lycopene reduces inflammation, and may reduce the risk of clots. so, wisdom, there's no recommended daily recommendation of how much lycopene you should be getting. but i'm going to play a game with you. i have pink grapefruit, raw tomato, pasta sauce and baked beans. which do you think has the most lycopene? >> i'm not going to go with the

obvis, which is the tomato. i'm going to say the grapefruit. >> don't go obvious. grapefruit? that's 1.7. what do you think has the next highest level of lycopene? >> still going to not go obvious. i'm going to go baked beans. >> you're failing miserably. but we're going to keep playing. what's next? >> tomato. >> tomato? okay. all right. you kind of did the opposite. you started low and then ended high. >> i misunderstood the question, that's what it was. >> that's what it was. i said it wrong. that's what my kids always say. i didn't know the teacher wanted that answer. so cooked tomato products have the highest amounts of lycopene, tomato juice, pasta sauce. raw tomato is okay. you can get it in your favorite

food. >> thank you. always good information. deena centifonti, thank you very much. tony? >> nice job, wisdom. still ahead, breaking down the presidential race state by state. we'lgo live to american university for the latest addition of campaign you. it's 8:55. fox5 morning news continues right after this. [ woman ] dear chex cereal,

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a college student terror plot. how it was foiled by law enforcement and why this could play a huge role in next week's final debate. >> you trust your children with me. one mother's outrage after learning her child wandered the streets near his day care. find out what happened ahead. >> plus, he fell 24 miles and

now his record sky dive could help save lives. >> good morning, i'm tony perkins. >> i'm sarah simmons. alison seymour has the day off today and tomorrow as well. lucky dog she is. it's nice for sure. >> it is. tucker barnes has a look at our forecast. >> a lot sunshine across the area. relatively cool temperatures, though we're expecting things to warm up this afternoon into the low 70s. some changes, rain showers on the way later as well. start with our radar, live look, nice and quiet at the moment. again, a lot of sunshine. not showing the cloud cover here, but we have clouds to the west. i think late morning, early afternoon we'll start to see things cloud up around here. i know the front doesn't look impressive at the moment. but later this afternoon some of that shower and thunderstorm activity will become enhanced and i think the timing later tonight for us. after sunset tonight showers and storms back in the forecast. temperature now at reagan national, 58 degrees. getting cool out there